Felix Kwakye Ofosu has kicked against the narrative that the major opposition party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), was excluded on purpose in the ongoing National Economic Dialogue.
The ongoing National Economic Dialogue, a forum organised by President John Dramani Mahama’s administration to address Ghana’s economic challenges, is expected to host all major stakeholders in the economic landscape; however, the leadership and key members of the NPP were missing in action.
There has been widespread assertion that the ruling government deliberately sidelined the NPP, but in clarifying the assertion, the Minister of State in charge of Government communication and a Spokesperson to President John Dramani Mahama, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, noted that the NPP was duly invited to be a major participant in the high-profile forum.
"I will have to check with the organisers to be certain, but I do know that persons who you can describe as members or supporters of the NPP were present. The likes of Kwame Pianim, who is a leading member of the NPP, were there,” Mr. Kwakye Ofosu stated.
He cited former Governors of the Bank of Ghana under the leadership of the NPP government as being part of the ongoing national dialogue; hence, there is no physical policy that seeks to prevent the NPP from attending the dialogue.
“Other NPP former appointees like Dr Paul Acquah and Dr Ernest Addison, who were both governors of the Bank of Ghana under NPP regimes, were there. So, I can say that there is really no policy to exclude anybody on account of political colouration. But I will check to verify whether specifically the NPP or any other political party was invited,” he explained.
Speaking further on Citi FM on Monday, March 3, 2025, Mr. Kwakye Ofosu added, “in any case, the NPP, only a week ago, was threatening not to be part of it. They were setting preconditions for attending. So, they did not give much of an impression that they wanted to be part of it.
"They also have a record of boycotting similar events in the past, specifically the Senchi Economic Forum. So, their records suggest that they are not willing to participate in these matters. It will be a regrettable omission, but the point is that nothing stops them from showing up.”
“It doesn’t speak well for them because there is no reason to boycott this particular dialogue. This is a national dialogue. All stakeholders, people from academia, industry players, politicians, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and traders from all over the country have gathered to look at Ghana’s economy,” Kwakye Ofosu added.
Meanwhile, Member of Parliament for Ketu North, Edem Agbana has described the boycott of the NPP as unpatriotic.
Speaking
on TV3’s New Day on March 4, 2025, Edem Agbana said, “For NPP to
boycott an important economic forum like this where we are all looking
for solutions to the challenges that we are confronted with in our
economy for me show them as a group of unpatriotic people.”
Comments
Post a Comment